Mortal Kombat 3 Makeover

Mortal Kombat 3 Makeover Screenshots

As Mortal Kombat 3 continues to be the rage of arcades, the masterminds behind the immensely popular series are already working on a major update. It will be free to arcade owners and will be released to coincide with home versions hitting the mass market in late September to mid-October.

WHO-NEW WHO'S WHO

All of the characters from Mortal Kombat 3 will be retained for the upgrade. In addition, there will be four new characters that will be selectable. These newcomers aren't completely new, in fact they are all from MK II!

Reptile and Scorpion will be very similar and will most likely be a pallet swap, but Kitana and Jade are slated for a more individual and unique look. For political reasons, the actors who originally filmed the characters won't be used. The male ninjas will be played by the current Sub-Zero/Shang Tsung. John Turk, while the ladies will be filmed with a new actress. These additional characters will have many of their old moves and combos in addition to a new set of moves, fatalities, etc. For example. Reptile will have a new move along the same lines as Kabal's spin but not the same look. Scorpion will get a new type of "super" teleport punch that will bounce players up and can be chained with his old teleport punch for an awesome air-and-ground juggle!

Reportedly, there will be 20 characters to choose on the Player Select Screen. If you consider the original 14 of MK 3 plus the return of the four MK II characters, there are still two characters unaccounted for. One possibility is the return of Smoke, the famous hidden character that was found through the Ultimate Kombat Code. However, if he returns, it is very likely that he will be flesh and blood like the other new ninjas and not a robo-ninja! Whether these two other characters are original creations or others hopping over from Mortal Kombat II, you can bet there will be several more hidden characters. With MK's past hidden characters, a few possibilities could be Mileena or maybe even Noob Siabot.

WHAT-THE INS AND OUTS

Besides the aforementioned characters, the makeover will incorporate several new elements. The most notable will be the addition of at least four new backgrounds. Not only will these stages have a whole new look, but some will even have stage or "pit" fatalities associated with them similar to the Tower, Subway or Pit 3. In preparing for the new backdrops, one of the original stages may be removed. It is purely a matter of available memory.

A few new features will be added that will have a dramatic effect on how the game is played. ECM was the first to mention the addition of the Run button. Ed Boon, chief programmer of MK, is working with several new options that will have as large of an impact or even larger. A few possibilities may include some of the options that were in the home versions. Look for a tag-team type of mode where you can set up matches with different characters in sort of a tournament fashion.

The story line will have obvious changes to reflect the presence of the new characters. Each character may not have a complete intro in the Attract Mode; rather, they will all be tied together in the cinematic opening story of the Attract Mode.

Each of the original MK 3 characters will be given an extra move but all their other moves and fatalities will remain the same! During production of MK 3, some moves were taken out during game testing and tweaking but may finally see the light of day. For example, you've seen Stryker point his gun up and shoot off a few rounds and probably wondered why he didn't use it during the game. There is a strong probability that he will get to use his gun in the new upgrade. The new moves will add a little extra excitement to each character as well as his/her playability.

What would a Mortal Kombat game be without loads of secrets? Plenty of characters, Vs. Screen codes and other goodies will fill up every available Bit of memory possible. Ed Boon is playing around with some ideas to bring some of the rumors to life in the same way he brought the fabled Animalities to MK 3. All the rumors of Ermac and Kano or Goro transformations may become a reality.

One thing is for sure: there will be a new set of Vs. Screen Options encompassing new concepts. A good candidate is a Stealth Mode where you can't see the character you pick or a doublespeed option. Based on the numerous options in MK 3, the upgrade is bound to have enough to keep people guessing. While everyone is trying to figure out the latest Vs. Screen codes there will now be three Ultimate Kombat Codes. The number may change as space demands, but there will be several long series of codes that will be encrypted as well. One of the codes will unlock a new playable character. (It won't be Smoke again!) The rest will be left to speculation as it remains one of the the best-kept secrets.

Finally, in keeping with the MK tradition, there will be a new hidden game! MK II started the trend with a hidden game of Pong after 250 battles and MK 3 had a Galaxian-type game after 100 matches. This new game will probably be accessed in a similar fashion, but we won't spoil the surprise ... yet.

Chicago residents might see the game a few weeks early. Midway tests the game at some of its primer locations.

This upgrade will obviously be more than a simple update and will therefore bear a new name rather than just a version number. The name will be something along the lines of MK 3 "Super," "Nitro" or some other single word. The reason Midway is making a full upgrade is primarily due to the home market. Because of the stunning reproduction on all of the home-market formats, Midway wants to give the operators and the players something fresh to play in arcades. Operators will benefit from a free chip update, and players will gain many new features and tech niques to keep them playing both versions--home and arcade. The concept isn't to add a few features and try to make more money since all the moves and fatalities will be the same! Instead, Midway wants to try to give the arcade and home markets something different.